Anyone here have any luck with a foreign language learning program?
I'm looking at Babbel or Rosetta Stone, but I don't have a ton of experience beyond high school Spanish 30 years ago, and am open to suggestions. And while Spanish seems the most practical, I'd certainly consider an easier language to learn. The only reason I'm considering doing this is for personal growth, so I literally have no constraints.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I can read in a few alphabets, but not this one! 
The best way to learn conversational language is to have actual conversations. Someone who is patient, resourceful, and willing to help would be ideal. You can listen to tapes and repeat what you hear, but that only helps you memorize certain phrases or sentences, not to know how or when to use them. You can read foreign words and phrases in a book and say them out loud to yourself, but your pronunciation and usage will be incorrect.
If you don't have a good friend who can help with this, then I recommend taking Community College or continuing education classes that might be not-for-credit and less expensive. After several semesters of adult education with a good teacher (in my case German classes) I was able to pick up enough to continue on my own, teaching myself by reading and translating. I'll never be proficient in German but at least I can understand general conversations and make myself understood.
Good luck!
About 25 years ago I joined a German folk singing group, it's sort of like a glee club except that we sing old traditional German folksongs in 3 and 4-part harmony. And wouldn't you know it, several of the longtime members are German immigrants who came to Pittsburgh after WWII. Many of these people have become good friends, and they are patient with my attempts to hold conversations in German even though their English is very good. It gives me a great opportunity to learn colloquial German that isn't normally taught in class. I did take classes as I stated in my previous post, but I wanted to continue beyond the classroom.
I applaud your interest in Norwegian, and I'd think it would be much harder to find Norwegian speaking Americans so it's lucky that you found your book group.
...they told me they were thinking about getting a second hand Rosetta Stone to brush up on the Spanish they had studied in high school. Briefly I say, because I mistakenly thought they were going to do this to enhance their job marketability.
Boy, was I wrong. They wanted to speak better Spanish so they could communicate with locals and go run with the bulls in Pamplona! 
I told them they were not allowed to do that while I was still alive so I did not have to worry about them being gored to death.
But as to your last para, I have to confess that even when I watch films/TV programs in English, I often prefer subtitles because I sometimes miss parts of the dialogue.
That may be because I am older than I once was or because the speakers don't enunciate clearly enough. 
interesting thread! 
It helps to be part of an online community that values diversity and knowledge.
